XIV Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2022

Bolivia's environmental agenda for 2021 has as one of its main challenges to face the forest fires that in the last two years have destroyed around 10 million hectares of forests in the country. The challenge is greater if one takes into account that, according to the researchers, the droughts will be more severe each year. Another issue that worries experts is the agricultural and livestock expansion associated with these fires, since the advance of these industries is taking place, mainly, in areas devastated by these disasters. Mining and infrastructure works that affect protected areas will also be part of the public debate.

Forest fires and forest protection

An average of 4 million hectares per year have been burned in Bolivia between 2001 and 2019, according to an analysis carried out by the Friends of Nature Foundation (FAN). In 2010 almost 10 million hectares were destroyed, while in 2019 it exceeded 6 million hectares. The figures show that forest fires have become one of the most worrying problems in Bolivia.

As is known, "chaqueo" (burning of forest areas to later obtain fertile soil for agriculture) is practiced every year and no drastic measures have been taken so far to regulate and control it. The drought conditions and the negligent inaction of the government caused a great disaster both in the Chiquitanía and in the Amazon, in the Pantanal and in the Chaco.

In 2020 we have to seriously address the risks and impacts associated with forest fires to ensure that the disaster that occurred in 2019 is never repeated. It is a complex task related to the use and possession of the land, permanent monitoring, education and awareness of the population, and the preparation of groups and immediate attention teams that prevent the spread of fire.

The non-transparent land titling processes must be clarified and resolved and Bolivia's policy regarding the expansion of the agricultural frontier must be defined again. In any policy that is going to be discussed, it will be necessary to involve all the relevant actors and based on tangible evidence. Civil society organizations have proven to be the only ones that currently have the technical capacity to generate reliable and timely data and information; It is very important that they have support to continue fulfilling this fundamental task. It has also been shown that Bolivia does not have sufficient capacities to deal with emergencies related to forest fires, both in terms of human resources and equipment.

“The fires are not accidental. Within the national development plan is the growth of 10 million hectares”, adds Jenny Gruenberger, strategic advisor to the League for the Defense of the Environment (Lidema), a national network that brings together 19 institutions that promote the construction of an environmental agenda with nine priority points for the 2020-2030 decade. Recently, they presented this agenda before the Congress of the Republic and, to date, more than 140 civil society institutions, the media, professional associations and academic institutions have joined their project.

During the forest fires of 2019, the Chiquitanía was the most affected ecosystem in Bolivia with 5.7 million hectares devastated. In 2020 it also lost more than 2.3 million hectares. The disaster also affected the lives of families living near these places. “It is a first experiment in early recovery linking communities and protecting access to water. The community is committed to protecting a certain number of hectares of forest,” explains María Teresa Vargas, executive director of the Bolivian Nature Foundation, about the project led by Natura in four communities in Chiquitanía, with the support of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) and the Korean cooperation agency.

"We are concerned about the mining issue, because it is allowed in protected areas and has benefits on water use," says Jenny Gruenberger, from Lidema, about the presence of mining in the country.The gold mining megaproject of the Bolivian Mining Corporation (Comibol) is the one that worries everyone the most. This project would be carried out in the "Madre de Dios" river basin, and would severely affect the Manuripi Reserve.

At the beginning of December, President Luis Arce met with the representatives of the 14 Federations of Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia (Fencomin) to work on the reactivation plan for this sector. The president pointed out, through his Twitter account, that the mining sector is "important for the Bolivian economy." According to the Trade Union Federation of Mining Workers of Bolivia, during 2020 around 60 mining cooperatives were created, that is, small non-profit self-managed associations of social interest that are based on the General Law of Cooperatives.

It is also worrying how mining is growing in protected areas such as the Madidi National Park and the Beni River. "There is a lot of suffering from extractivism."

Unlike the issue of municipal waste management, there is little that the population can do to facilitate the management of mining waste. If national and local authorities do not act, existing conflicts will worsen.

In 2020, it places Bolivia as the second country with the highest deforestation in the Amazon. The figures indicate that between 2001 and 2019 the country lost 3,187,800 hectares of forests and vegetation cover in the Amazon due to forest fires, illegal mining and land use change.

"The fires have an anthropic origin and start mostly outside the Protected Natural Areas (ANP) and Indigenous Territories (TI), however, these spaces are impacted by the advance of the fire, affecting them in 25% of the total", explains the report of the Amazon Network of Socio-environmental Information (RAISG) in relation to one of the causes of deforestation in the country.

It is pointed out that for the first time monitoring has been carried out in the entire Amazon basin to analyze the loss of forests in the last 18 years. He mentions that, in addition to the fires, illegal mining is one of the causes behind the loss of forests in Bolivia. “Illegal mining is growing, especially in the Amazon of La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. This activity affects water quality, indigenous peoples and protected areas. Pollution and social impacts are great.”

In May of this year, the magazine "Mongabay Latam" published a special that gave an account of how illegal mining threatens protected natural areas. According to journalistic investigation, the exploitation of gold has surrounded the Madidi National Park, one of the most biodiverse in the world. The immense dredgers (known as dragons) are observed mainly in the Kaká River, in the area of ​​influence of the Madidi.

“The mining sector is very strong with influence in politics. The high prices of gold stimulate its extraction”, comments the magazine and adds that the levels of contamination due to the extraction of gold in the Amazonian rivers are serious.

Carrasco National Park, in Cochabamba, has been the target of invasions even during the pandemic. In March of last year, the entry of at least 200 invaders was reported, who days later were evacuated by the authorities. However, illegal entries occur throughout the year and worsened during the health emergency, the park rangers say.

Indigenous leader Ruth Allipaz refers to the problem of deforestation since what happened during the pandemic. “The stoppage due to the pandemic has not stopped extractive activities or illegality, on the contrary, they have intensified. Oil activities, logging, and mining took advantage of the pandemic season to quietly settle in certain spaces. The Tuichi River (department of La Paz), for example, is taken over by mining through cooperatives.”

Deforestation caused by monocultures is also a growing problem in Bolivia. This year, the "Global Forest Watch" satellite monitoring platform recorded between January and October 2021 alone, 11,693 deforestation alerts within the Laguna Concepción Municipal Protected Area, in Santa Cruz. Those responsible for this loss of forest in a highly biodiverse area are the Mennonite colonies that manage large soybean plantations.

According to the investigation, some properties located within the protected area achieved the approval of deforestation plans, permits that are delivered by the Forest and Land Inspection and Social Control Authority (ABT).

"One of the big problems for ecosystems is the change in land use," says Vélez-Liendo, who adds that this transformation is the next step after the fires that, for the most part, have been caused. “That makes the forests more fragmented and less friendly to wildlife. And for us it is a struggle with the people who sell the land and bring cattle.”

Rubén Darío Arias Ortiz, a member of the National Coordinator for the Defense of Native Indigenous Peasant Territories and Protected Areas (Contiocap) describes 2021 as a “dismal” year. The leader of the indigenous and peasant organization is concerned that the so-called economic reactivation is directed towards extractive activities and agribusiness. “Indigenous territories and autonomy are not being respected. Now, the new human settlements are taking place on burned areas and indigenous peoples have been blocked when they have wanted to exercise their autonomy.”

List of sources

1. Oxfam intermon // 7 most important environmental issues in Bolivia. – 2021. [Electronic resource]. – URL: https://blog.oxfamintermon.org/los-7-problemas-del-medio-ambiente-mas-graves/. (Date of visit: 18.06.2021)

2. Mongabay, independent environmental journalism from Latin America // Environmental issues in Bolivia in 2021. – 2021. [Electronic resource]. – URL: https://es.mongabay.com/2021/01/desafios-ambientales-para-bolivia-en-el-2021/. (Date of visit: 21.01.2021)

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